Automobile wheel wedge



Feb. 6, 1940. A. s. NooNAN 2,189,323

AUTOMOBILE kWHEEL WEDGE Filed July' v, 195s FlG.l I7

FIG.8

ATTORNEYS `Patented Feb. 1940 UNITED ,STATES f PATENT oFFlci-z 'rms invention relates to wedges to be muses against an automobile tire to prevent the wheels` of the'automobile from rolling when repairsare being made to the car and particularly when one part of the car has been jacked up to allow a tire to be changed.

When one end or part of an automobile is jacked up for the purpose o! changing a tire the brakes under the end or part of the car jacked up cannot be set or at least cannot be kept applied during the whole operation for usually the wheel on which the tire is to be changed has to be rotated from time to time in order to remove the tire and detachable rim from the permanent u rim or to remove the tire and more or less of the wheel from the hub or portion of the wheel left on the car. Where the automobile has its tire carried on a rim that is demountable from the main rim upon the wheel, the wheel has to be rotated to get the valve stem at the upper part of the wheel in order to raise the partly removed tire enough to get the valve stem out of its hole vthrough the permanent rim. With most other types of tire it is at least more convenient if not absolutely necessary to be able to rotate the wheels while the tire is being removed and the same tire or another tire replaced on the wheel. In case the car has only two-wheel brakes and a rear tire is tc be changed obviously 80 the brakes being upon the rear wheels cannot be used to stop the car from rolling.

'I'he purpose of this invention is toprovide an effective and vconvenient. and practicable wedge or set of wedges for blocking the automobile I5 wheels in order to keep the car from rolling when rthe -brakes cannot be used or cannot be used edectively, as when a tire is being changed and one end of the car has been jacked up. When one end of the car has been jacked up and the 0 brakes are not effective the car is very apt to start rolling if it is upon even a very slight incline and rolling at such a time isv an element of danger to the person changing the tire. A further purpose of this invention is to providea blocking wedge which is large enough and strong enough to be e'ective but which is at the same time light enough and compact enough to be conveniently carried in the modern automobile.

A still further purpose is to provide a pair of `50 such wedges which are hollow and can be telereceptacle for holding material that iscommonly necessary during tire change operations. auch .as soap and waste for cleaning the hands that get soiled during this operation. A still further purpose is' to provide a wedge oi the general l type above indicated' wherein one of the ground engaging faces is' provided with a downwardly extending spur which will bite into the surface of the road or ground enough to prevent the wedge from being slid along upon the road leven m though there be considerable incline in that part oi .the road. A further purpose is to provide a very light but a very strong wedge oi' the class indicated but which wedge is very economical in w cost of construction by reason oi its being made from one strip of sheet metaly bent at two points in its length and having its opposite ends at tached to each other near their extremities, and with this hollow box reinforced by a triangular piece ci' sheet vmetal ntting and permanently i@ fastened within said bon.

Further purposes and advantages oi the inven tion will appear from the speciiloation and claim herein:

Fig. i is a perspective view oi part of an autog5 mobile wheel and tire with a wedge embodying this invention applied on the down-hill side of the tire in blocking position.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation on a larger scale or said wheel wedge when seen from its open side w and with the wedge in the position it usually occupies when in actual use.

Fig.V 3 is a top plan view oi the wedge shown in Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a cooperating or M' telescoping pair oi' wedges embodying this invention when the wedges are telescopeii` and the smaller wedge is towards the observer. l

Fig. 5 is a top plan view oi the pair oi wedges shown in Fig. d. d

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken upon line 6 6 oi' Fig. 4 and showing the pair of hollow telescoping wedges utilized as a receptacle for holding a can o! soap and a bunch of waste.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the smaller wedge of Figs. 4 to 6 but with the open side of the wedge towards the observer.

r Fig. 8isa patternviewonasmaller scaleofa strip of sheet steel i'rom which the three walls of the hollow box forming the wedge may be made.

Fig. 9 is a pattern view of the triangular. plate used to close one triangular side of the wedge. Referring to the drawing in a more particular description it will be seen that the vehicle or automobile wheel blocking wedge It embodylnl' this invention -is constructed in the form of a hollow box, triangular in longitudinal section and preferably open at one triangular side. This wedge I0 is accordingly provided with a wall II usually used to engageA the tire Il of the automobile wheel I8, a ground engaging wall I2 and a third or upright wall I2. Preferably and most conveniently these three walls will be formed of a relatively stiff metal. Preferably and most conveniently they are formed from a strip I6 of the proper length. width and thickness of open hearth or hot rolled band stock sheet steel of the proper gauge to obtain the ,desired strength and stiffness without being too heavy for convenient handling and storage. This strip of sheet steel of about the proportion shown in the plan view thereof Fig. 8, is bent at the zones, as I9 and 20, to form the triangular body or hollow open box of the wedge. Preferably the free extremity of the ground engaging wall I2 is fastened as by welding to the zone 2I which is a little back from the free extremity of the upright wall I3 so as to leave a shortl portion of said upright wall projecting beyond the outer level of the ground engaging wall I2 and this projection forms the spur 22, the downward end or extremity of which is beveled or sharpened to form a strong knife edge 23 adapted to bite into the surface of the road or of the ground against which the bottom or ground engaging wall I2 of the wedge is placed when it is to be in actual use and preventing the wheel from rolling. This operating position of the wedge is plainly shown in Fig. l where it has been placed on the down-hill side of the road close to the tire and with the spur adapted to bite into the road as far as necessary to prevent the wedge from being pushed down hill by the weight of the automobile. To this triangular-shaped box open on both of its triangular sides there is 'attached and rigidly and permanently secured as by welding a stiil' plate of metal 24 triangular in general shape as seen in Fig. 9, but having-twoofits corners rounded slightly so as to fit snugly within said triangular box. By placing this triangular plate just within one open side of the structure described and fastening it there permanently and rigidly a triangular box open on one side is formed which is light in weight but is very sti and rigid due to the plate 24 forming a reinforcing or stiil'ening member which added to the general strength of the metal used in the making oi' the three sides of the box renders the structure well adapted to take the strain incident to being used as a blocking or locking wedge at either side of the wheel of the automobile. Preferably the triangular plate 2l is fastened in its place by welding it at the interior corners of the box as at 25 and at a few spots as 26 intermediate the length of the edges of the triangular plate and the adjoining .metal especially of the longest side II and oi the ground-engaging side I2.

Preferably a pair of these open-sided box-like wedges will be provided for practical use with an automobile inasmuch as in some cases it is advisable to block two wheels on the down-hill side for greater safety and also in some cases a wedging block is placed on both sides of the wheel that is to be blocked while the other part of the automobile is jacked up as for changing the tire or for other necessary repairs. In some cases especially where an automobile has been jacked up it cannot be told with certainty ahead of time which way the automobile may tend to roll when the Jack swings either way from its original sub stantially vertical position.

Preferably and conveniently when these blocking wedges are provided in pairs one wedge will be slightly smaller than the other so as to allow the smaller one to be inserted within the larger one to a greater or less extent and more or less as shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. Fig. 4 shows that the smaller blocking wedge is Just enough smaller than the large wedge to allow the small one to be conveniently slipped within ,the larger one. As this smaller wedge as seen in Fig. 4 also has a spur 22 this smaller wedge will have the angle between its longer side and its ground-engaging side slightly less than the corresponding angle of the larger wedge in order as it will be seen from Fig. 4 to allow this telescopic housing of the small wedge in the cavity of the larger one. The slight diierence in size of the smaller wedge is not enough to interfere with the effective use of the smaller wedge. This housing of one wedge within l the other allows the two wedges to be stored and carried in the automobile in very little more space than will be used for the larger Wedge.

Preferably the open side of the smaller wedge will be inserted first into the open side of the larger wedge and the chamber of the small wedge forms a box-like receptacle in which I conveniently place a can 21 of liquid soap such as is commonly used for cleaning the hands after a repair job has been done upon an automobile. In the remaining space of this box there is placed adjacent the can a bunch of waste 28 or a rag for the convenience of the operator in applying the soap and in cleaning the hands from the grease and soap. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the larger one of the pair of wedges forms a deep cover protecting the can of soap and the waste .that is in the other or smaller wedge from escap- ,ing from that wedge and from coming in contact with other things in the tool box or other receptacle of the automobile where the wedges may be carried. Preferably and conveniently the pair of wedges will be detachably fastened in closed telescopic position by a split pin 29 having its two arms projected through aligned holes 30 and 3| in corresponding sides of the pair of wedges. These holes will be in alignment when the wedges are in the desired ordinary substantially completely telescopic yposition of the two wedges.

As one step in economical manufacture the edge 23 of the projecting spur 22 may be formed by the very step of cutting each successive strip I I of sheet from the main strip of such metal which is of indeinite length, by having this cutting step so performed as to cut through the metal on the proper acute angle to at the same time form the acute angle of the spur edge. 'Ihe corresponding bevel 32 left at the other end of the strip does not interfere with the welding of that beveled end of the strip to the vertical side I3 just back from its spur end usually leaving the deposit 33 in the angle of the parts of the proper welding material as will be seen in Figs. 2, 4 and 7.

The corners of the generally triangular box may be sharper or more rounding than shown in the drawing without departing from my invention.

It will be understood that my invention is not limited in the appended claim to the above described details for obviously such a wedge can be made in other ways, such for instance as from one solid piece of flat steel by a blanking process What I claim as new and desire to secure by wheels from rolling. and forming a closed storage Letters Patent is: receptacle when the open side o! one is intro- As a. new article of automobile equipment, a duced telescopically within the open side of the telescopically housed pair of triangular hollow other wedge. 5 box-like wedges having one triangular side open, `ALBERT S. NOONAN. 5

to be used separately as wedges to prevent vehicle 

